Unveiling smart city implementation challenges: The case of Ghent

Abstract

The 'smart city' label is internationally used by cities, researchers and technology providers with different meanings. As a popular concept it is widely used by city administrators and politicians to promote their efforts to prepare their cities for the future. There are decent definitions for what a smart city is, but it is much harder to find a trustworthy description of what it takes to become a smart city and how a city administration is impacted by that effort. This paper sets out to investigate how a city, aspiring to become a 'smart city', can manage its internal organization to realize that ambition. Specifically, it describes the case of the City of Ghent, Belgium, and the key challenges it has been facing in its ongoing efforts to be a smart city. Based on in depth interviews with city representatives six key challenges for smart city realization were identified and tested with a panel of representatives from five European cities that are in the process of becoming a smart city. The study contributes to a more professional pursuit of the smart city concept and elaborates the academic body of knowledge on smart city development, as an instance of IT-enabled transformation in public services.